Whenever pharmaceuticals are advertised on television, the verbal disclaimer they’re forced to provide always seems far longer than the shiny, happy portion of the commercial (the sales pitch). And at the end, you inevitably get a list of potential side effects, many of which are contradictory: this drug may cause grogginess or insomnia; you may vomit, you may be unable to vomit; don’t operate heavy machinery, don’t avoid heavy machinery.

And in most cases, the side effects seem so incredibly heinous that I’m left wondering why anyone would consider taking this drug. You may get a ten-minute reprieve from the pains of rheumatoid arthritis, but you’ll spend the next two weeks unable to eat, sleep or leave the bathroom. There’s simply got to be a better way.

Maybe that’s what Oscar Grimm thought at the start of his journey with cancer.

(At this point, I should probably provide a disclaimer of my own: the purpose of this article is to inform you of one man’s experience. Your actions after reading it are entirely your responsibility. But it’s an inspiring story, so keep reading.)

After Grimm, the Media Director of Freshtopia.net, underwent surgery in February of last year to remove a brain tumor the size of a raquetball, he was given the “dismal diagnosis of Glioblastoma Multiforme [GBM], one of the most malignant, aggressive, and terminal forms of cancer known” – and one for which the long term American survival rate is a bleak 1-2%. He tried radiation therapy and chemo, but the results weren’t satisfactory, so Oscar decided to take matters into his own hands.

After intense internet research, Oscar was able to make educated decisions about his future treatments. Eschewing conventional methods, he began making changes to his diet (such as upping his intake of fresh, raw vegetables and eliminating all refined sugars), adding nutritional supplements, practicing various meditation and exercise routines and getting plenty of sleep and sunlight.

Eight months later, according to Freshtopia, his tumor — which continued to grow post surgery — was shrinking. This is fantastic news for Oscar, who says “I have more energy, and feel better than I have felt in over twenty years.”

But he didn’t stop there. Luckily for those of us who aren’t content accepting one way of thinking, health-wise — Oscar has been sharing his experiences and information on Freshtopia and hopes to put his findings on GBM into a public database to make others aware of the options he discovered. “In an environment where affordable healthcare is less and less available,” he says, “the responsibility for our health and health information is going to fall back onto our own shoulders. It’s best to get a head start on it, and not wait until something goes wrong.”

Which means the moral of this story is that you should never stop asking questions and exploring information on your own. Because it’s your body. And the ultimate decisions on how to care for it are yours.

As Oscar says, “taking your health care into your own hands is an extremely important and empowering step.”